W.H. Admits Oil Companies Will Pass on Cost of New Tax to Customers

[excerpt]
SUPERVILLE: "A follow-up on the oil tax question. If something like that ever get through this current Congress, within wouldn't asking companies to pay $10 more for a [barrel] of oil, wouldn’t that somehow [damp] some of the progress that the president has just talked about [indecipherable]?”
EARNEST: “I think that it does seem likely that oil companies would pass on at least some of that expense, but I think part of the president’s point is that we are seeing that the energy costs are lower than they have been in quite some time. This is precisely the time when we should capitalize on that opportunity. The truth is the argument is stronger when energy prices are at an all-time high. But now we are in a situation where energy prices are a little bit lower and it is a smart time for us to start considering how we can make fiscally responsible investments in new technology and more modern infrastructure and transportation systems that are run on renewable energy; make investments in research and development that would allow us to strengthen the economy, but also allow us to transition to the low carbon energy economy of the future."